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ALLSTATE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: LSU v ALABAMAJanuary 5, 2012A.J. McCarronTrent RichardsonWilliam VlachosNEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA THE MODERATOR: We have AJ McCarron, Trent Richardson, and William Vlachos with us for questions. Q. AJ, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the experience of playing LSU the first time, what you learned from it and what was most frustrating coming out of that game. AJ MCCARRON: I'd have to say, you know, playing them the first time was a special experience for me, just the tradition between Alabama and LSU and the rivalry they've always had. It wasn't that great of an experience coming out with a loss. But as a team we felt like we kind of let it slip through our fingers and get away from us in the end. And hopefully this time we won't let that happen. Q. Trent, you kind of got to know the "Honey Badger" at the ESPN College Football Awards and Heisman Trophy ceremony. Could you talk about getting to know him and then watching him on film and just the type of guy he is? Because I know he thinks a lot of you. TRENT RICHARDSON: He's a very motivated guy. And he's a special guy, at the same time, because when I was down there I got to find out he was adopted. And to come from a situation like that and being as small as he is, it tells you a lot about his him and personality and what his ego is for real. Because you got a guy like that, and people start to say that you're not going to make it, you're not going to be this, this, and that. But you got a guy that came from where he came from, it means a lot. It means a lot around the community where you're from and around the world because it tells, hey, you're a little guy, you can't do this, but he's got ‑‑ he plays like he's 6'4". And he's a very eager guy and ready to go out there and play every play like it's his last. To come from a guy like that who came from the situation he came from, it means a lot to everybody and gives a lot of hope to kids out there that are smaller than what most of the kids is nowadays. Q. AJ, talk about the biggest challenge of being a first‑year starter at your position and why you think you're a better quarterback today than you were in August? AJ MCCARRON: I'd say the biggest challenge is playing‑‑ I didn't play like myself last time. I felt like‑‑ I felt like I did a good job of taking care of the ball and trying to get it to the guys. But I didn't really play the game with a whole lot of emotion like I usually do. Like I said earlier, after the Florida game or during the Florida game, when I was getting the crowd going, and Coach told me to calm down. After the LSU game, he told me to play with emotion again, that he missed that. I definitely gotta come out and play with emotion in this game like I always do. Just play my game. But as growing as a quarterback all year long, I felt like I've done a pretty good job so far. I mean, coming in your first year, you always‑‑ you're not going to know a whole lot going into it. And right now as of now I feel like I've been here forever. This season's taken a long time. And I think I've seen everything especially going against our defense every day. They throw everything in the book at you. But with my guys around me doing a great job, especially my offensive line, helping me grow as a leader and as a quarterback all year long. Q. For all of you, first AJ, you talked about growing as a quarterback and finding your way. I'm interested to know what you learned after that loss to LSU and how you think personally and as a team you guys have used that to improve as a team in this rematch? AJ MCCARRON: For me personally, I felt like‑‑ like I said, I felt like I should have played the game with a little more emotion. I mean, every game you're not going to be perfect going into the game, especially after the game. You just try to eliminate as many mistakes as you possibly can. I felt like on a personal level I feel like I missed some reads that I usually make. But at the same time, like I said, a big game like that, things always don't fall your way. You need a little luck sometimes. But I felt like the way this team has grown since that game and our mentality has been. So I guess so much of like we don't want to let anything like this ever happen again and slip way from us. And I feel like we've done a great job of proving that we belong here and that we should get a second chance at it. TRENT RICHARDSON: For me, and as a team leader, I'm sure Vlachos and AJ could say the same thing, when it comes to being motivated, this is the most motivated game that we have in the season, as far as being the championship and a rematch, because a lot of people voted us out, didn't want us in this ballgame. But Monday night we're going to show them why we should have been in this ballgame and why that we shouldn't be voted‑‑ I'm not saying we're going to win or we're going to lose, but when it comes down to football, it's one of the things that you want to‑‑ that we strive on and want to be remembered as the team that came down to history and had the most significant season and an outcome of the season that we're going to be winners and want to be the lead program. So for us to be in the situation now that we're in, we just love being the underdogs, and we love being the team that nobody want to see in the championship. And that put a chip on our shoulder and we're going to show them or prove why we should be in this game. The voters did good. They put the best two teams in the situation to play the ballgame on Monday night when they did. So for us to be in this ballgame, it means a lot to us and our community around Tuscaloosa. Q. What did you learn from the first game, from that loss as a team, and how have you used that to improve for this rematch? WILLIAM VLACHOS: I think the biggest thing we saw after the loss‑‑ it's what Coach Saban says all the time. It sounds so cliche, but it comes down to what we do. Obviously they're a great team. They made more plays than we did and they won. When you look at it, it comes down to our execution, the little things we did do or didn't do, and that's something that we've been emphasizing since practice started this month, I think. Just refining the execution of the game plan is what we're focusing on right now. I think it makes you kind of sick sometimes to watch that film because there's so many little things out there that, as an offensive line, if we sustain our block for another half second, Trent's going for 60 yards and not six. And I think that's something that we're conscious of. Q. William and Trent, do you want AJ to play with more emotion? Do you want him to play with more calm? What is your assessment of how he might go into a game? TRENT RICHARDSON: When it come to AJ, I think he play way better when he's playing with a lot of emotion. But whatever makes him comfortable, man. And that's one thing he likes to do is play with emotion and keep us going and make sure he's yelling at us on the sideline. We come on the sideline and tell him everything going to be okay. Don't get down and we'll get a play back. That's what he do. And that's what quarterbacks do for‑‑ you ever see a quarterback, they're all into the game. You watch good quarterbacks today, they're all into the game. So AJ is one of them guys that, hey, he's going to be one of them guys you can say he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA. So he do what he do. And we have fun with him. We love to play for AJ. WILLIAM VLACHOS: First of all, I just want to say that playing quarterback at Alabama is extremely hard. The scrutiny and the pressure and the expectations that you deal with on a daily basis is something that I couldn't imagine. It's something that I have to deal with playing center. I couldn't imagine having to deal with on a level of playing quarterback. AJ has done a tremendous job all year. He's really impressed all of us. We're very, very proud of him. So I think however he wants to play, we trust him that that's what he needs to do to get his job done. Q.  Two questions for Trent. Your teammates and your coaches talk about your unselfishness. You waited two years to become the feature back sharing carries with Ingram. Talk about how that made you a better back this year. Speaking of Ingram, he's in New Orleans. He had surgery this week. Have you talked to him at all? TRENT RICHARDSON: You know, to be a running back and to come in and to be a big recruit, you would think that a guy like me would be selfish and be ready to play, transfer or something like that. But it's not like that, man. And when I got here I knew there was running backs in front of me, but I didn't care. My attitude was to go in do anything I could to try to contribute to the team. When it comes to situations like I had, man, I love the experience because I can say I've played with a Heisman Trophy winner and I can say I was on a national championship team contributing to the team my freshman year. And I can say I'm here now. And I can say that I was around a group of guys that you'll‑‑ always be remembered. And to be in a situation where you have Mark on your team and to be a good leader like he was. And you can never get that situation back for‑‑ you can never take that from me because Mark, he was a team player. And he really showed me a lot. And with him being him and him going into situations he's been through with all of these awards and all these good goals he had to sit and the ones he achieved on. So for me to be a team player‑‑ and I've never been selfish. It's not me. I really think if you're selfish that you're missing out on your blessing further, and that's one thing I tried not to do. So for me to be in this situation I am now, man, I love it because this group of guys here, just being around them and being surrounded by them, I never want to play with another group of guys, be on another team with another group of guys like these guys here. Q. Have you talked to Mark this week about the injury? TRENT RICHARDSON: No, I don't try to get into that stuff there. I know he's going to do good, whatever it comes down to. Mark is a warrior. He's the same guy who had surgery one week before the game and came back in two weeks. So he's always been Superman in my eyes. And I'm pretty sure Mark, when he do come back, he's going to come back strong and have fun doing what he's doing. Q. Trent, we were talking in the other room about your daughters, and you said that you never wanted them to have to go through what you went through growing up. Could you talk a little bit about what you did go through and how it made you stronger? TRENT RICHARDSON: For me, when I was growing up, I was‑‑ I grew up in Pensacola, where I grew up around, in Warrington, it was crazy out there. Because what I went through, a lot of deaths going on and a lot of drugs around me. That's where I was brought up at. So for my little girls to have the opportunity they have today and their daddy to make a better place for them, I don't want them to go through nothing what I went through. I seen my mom work two or three jobs at one time and had to come home and make meals for us and had to come clean up behind us. So at the end of the day it was like I don't want my kids to go through that. And their daddy, he's in a situation where he can make life better for them and he can show them how hard work has been done, because that's what my momma showed me and that's what my brothers have showed me and taught me the whole time while we was growing up, never to give up and stuff like that. I'm in a situation now and I try to show my girls that it is a struggle out there and it is hard for us and parents out there. And I don't want them to struggle like I did. I had to go through the stuff I had to go through. That's really motivated me on the field. Because when I play with my girls on my mind, I feel like nobody can stop me. Q. AJ, I'm wondering if you could break down Morris Claiborne as a corner for me a little bit. I know he picked you off in the first matchup. What are his skill sets and the challenges he poses? AJ MCCARRON: I don't really know his skill set, but he's one of the best corners in the country. You really don't have to know the game to know that. I mean, he's all over ESPN, all over the Draft status and all that. The guy's going to be one of the top guys taken in the NFL Draft this coming Draft. So the guy's, like I said, one of the best cornerbacks in the country. You've got to respect him. You've got to respect his game. And at the same time every guy's got his weakness, though, and you gotta know it and you gotta take advantage of it when you get the opportunity. Q. AJ, would you ever get back on a WaveRunner? AJ MCCARRON: Yes, sir. I own the fastest one Yamaha makes right now. It tops out at 89. My mom doesn't like me talking about it, period, but I'm crazy on them. Me and my buddies‑‑ I was raised on the water. So during the summer when I get an opportunity to get away from football, I'll go golf early in the morning and go out on the river. And, like I said, my mom hates it, but I'm still crazy on them. Q. AJ, talk about the advantages and disadvantages, if there are any, of putting the game plan over this amount of time, how much you guys put in two weeks ago, a week ago, and how much is still to be put in, if any, are these practices more of a review? AJ MCCARRON: I'll personally and I know the guys next to me will say like the advantages definitely are you're able to look at them longer. And you're able‑‑ when you're preparing for just one week, it's really almost like two days and then after two days your game plan's gotta be installed and you've got to know what you gotta do and when you gotta do it. But now that we've had a little while longer to prepare for them, I felt like our coaches have done a great job. We got the best coaching staff in the country by far. Coach Saban's led us to two national championships out of the past three years. I mean, the only disadvantage I'd say you have is preparing too much, which some teams can do sometimes because you find and you look at too many things and you try to take advantage of too many things instead of just going out playing the game. And at the end of the day, it's a game of football. You gotta have some luck go your way. But I felt like our team has done a great job preparing for this game so far. Q. I assure you it was way before curfew, but I did see some of you and your teammates out in the French Quarter last night. Did you have a good time and did you see anything you've probably never seen before? AJ MCCARRON: I'll pass that question to them. (Laughter). WILLIAM VLACHOS: I didn't leave the room, so you can ask them. TRENT RICHARDSON: So everybody's gonna put the question on me. I mean, yeah, it was different. Because, I mean, we have a strip, but we don't have a strip like that. And being in that environment, it's crazy because you see stuff that you've never seen before. And, I mean‑‑ and the people are partying on that street all day and all night. And that's what they get out of it. It was different seeing the French Quarter. That's all I can really say about that because it was fun. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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